Rapid freezing device



Feb. 2, 193,7.

R. H. cHlLTN 2,069,195

RAPID FREEZING DEVICE I Filed April 30, 1934 4'SheetS-Sheet l all.;

INVENTOR HEM; H Ummm M ATTCRNEYS Feb. 2, 1937. R. H. CHILTON 2,069,195

RAPID FREEZING DEVICE V Filed April 30, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 M ATTORNEYs Feb. 2, 1937. VR, H CHMON v2,069,195

RAPID FREEZING DEVICE Filed April 50, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ig /zINVENTOR Hara/1 H .L /71729717 fw ATTORNEYS Feb. 2, 1937.

l R. H. CHILTON RAP ID FREEZ ING DEVICE Filed April 30, 1934 4Sheets-Sheet 4 `l |IIIIIIL..

Wy ATTORNEYS i l Patented Feb. 2,' 1937 UNITED STATES vvPATlszNT oFFlcRAPID mEEzING DEVICE poration of Delaware Application April 30, 1934,Serial No. 723,029

15 Claims. (Cl. (i2-108.5)

'Ihis invention relates to freezing devices, especially such as areadapted for use in domestic refrigerators vto produce small ice blocksfor table use.

This invention comprises both the improved form or forms of freezingcontainers described herein and the improved arrangement and method fortransferring heat from the containers to the refrigerant whereby moreeiiicient and rapid freezing of the container contents is obtained.

A general feature of the invention is the provision of highheat-conducting grid or cover members for thek containers, which membershave greatly improved heat-transfer relationship with the stationaryrefrigerated member or surface of the coolingamit o f the refrigerator.Another feature of the invention is the provision of laterally extendingprojections or anges on the grid or cover member which engage in goodheat-transfer contact stationary supporting ledges on the lside walls orother surfaces of the freezing chamber. A separate shelf or vsupport forthe container pan may befused for even `greater rapidity of freezing or,if desired, the container may also be supported dependinglyl by saidledges or by thegrid or cover member itself. vliy thus providing abetter and more direct heat-transfer path from the water in thecontainer to the refrigerant it- .self the rapidity of freezing isgreatly increased. g Another feature of the invention is the arrangementof a refrigerant duct within or adjacent the freezing chamber in suchmanner that practically all, or at least the greater part, of therefrigerating effect from said duct goes first towards freezing theliquid contents of the container; in other words, the freezing of theliquid contents has rst call upon the refrigerating effect of therefrigerant in a certain duct. After the refrigerant in this certainduct has performed its prime function of freezing the .liquid contentsit may then use its full eifect in performing the general function ofcooling other areas orparts of the refrigerator, as desired. 'I'hisvfeature of the invention is illustrated particularly in Figs. 1 to 5. YAnother feature of the invention is the means for causing the expansionof the ice upon freezing to lift the grid or cover member upwardly outof contact with or loosen its frozen bond with its supporting ledge orother surface, whereby renarily bond tightly thereto by frost during theiirst part of the freezing operation andthus provide a goodheat-transfer path, but as the ice ex"- pands upon freezing it willforce the grid or cover member upwardly and break it loose from suchfrozen bond and thereby permit its easy removal. 5 4

In the forms of the invention where the grid or cover member has a metalto water or ice contact with its refrigerated surface the action will besubstantially the same as above described. In the forms of theinvention4 where the. gridl or 10 cover member dips into a non-freezingliquid film (such as brine ormercury) can'ied upon its refrigeratedsurface, this metal toliquid contact will give a very eicientheat-pathuntil the ice expands upon freezing whereupon the grid or 15 covermember will be lifted clear Ao f the non freezing liquid and such liquidwill drain oi the previously wetted metal edge, whereby messiness isavoided'when the container is removed from the freezing chamber. 20

Various other features of the invention relate to the easy removal ofthe ice blocks from the freezing containers after the containers areremoved from the freezing chamber, as more fully described herebeiow inconnection with the vari- 25 ous forms of the invention. With some formsof the invention no melting is necessary to. properly free the iceblocks from the container, such asin the form illustrated in Figs. 13 to17. With some'formsof the invention it is preferable to 3g thaw thefrozen bond of the ice with either the container pan or the top member,such thawing being greatly facilitated by the integral metal partitionmembers on such member. In the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 5,v10, 1 2, 20 35 and 22, th'e expansion of the ice during freezing forcesthe upper grid member upwardly and substantially loosens the taperedpartition members from the ice blocks and thereby facilitates theremoval of the ice blocks therefrom, this being 40 e\true whether or notit is necessary or preferable to elt the ice free from the lower orcontainer member.

Further obiects'and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the fol- 4,5 lowing description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is clearly shown. p

In the drawings: l

Figs. 1 to 5 show-one form of the invention wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view taken on line l-I of l Fig.' 5; w

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 55

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is similar toFig. 3 but shows how the expansion of the ice has lifted the grid memberclear of its supporting ledge; Y -f 5 Fig. 5 is a somewhat diagrammaticview illustratin-g an arrangement of a refrigerant duct and freezingcontainers so that the fieezing of the liquid contents has' first callupon the refrigerant in this duct.

Fig. 6 isa transverse section through the con'- tainer in another formof the invention.

Figs. 7 to 10 show another form of the inven.-V

tion wherein: Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the container;

f Fig. 8 is a section on line 8 8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 and illustrates how the dependinganges on both the container and grid member are supported clear abovethe v liquid on the supporting ledge during insertion Figs. 13 to 17show another form of the inven -tion wherein:

Fig. 13 is a transverse section through the container; f

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 9, and illustrates how'the grid memberis cammed upwardly and supported above the liquid on the side ledges 40while the container is being slid into or out of its freezing position;

Fig. 15 illustrates how the exible rubber container pan may be strippedfrom the ice while it is held upon the grid member to facilitate the 45-removal of the ice without melting;

Fig. 16 illustrates how the metal grid member may be exed to-loosen theice blocks therefrom to facilitate .their removal without melting.

Fig. 17 is a plan view of the flexible metal grid 5o member with the iceall removed.

Figs. 18 to 20 show another form of the invention wherein: Y Fig. 18 isa plan view similar to Fig. 1;

Fig. 19 is a section on line I9--I9 of Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is similarvto Fig. 19 but shows the effect of the expansion ofthe ice in lifting the separate grid member.

Figs. 21 and 22 show another'form of the invention wherein: y 60. Fig.21 isv a longitudinal section through the container and exible uppergrid member;

v Fig. 22 is a section on line 22--22 Vof Fig. 21 and shows the effectof the expansion of the ice in partially lifting the upper grid member.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

l In Figs. 1 to 5, the sides I0 of the freezing chamber have a series ofmetal ledges Il supported thereupon in any suitable manner, pref- 70erably by having a layerof'heat-insulating material I2 interposedtherebetween so 'that prac- -tically all the cooling effect of the.refrigerant duct I3 willv be applied to the freezing tray ele- Y mentswhich contact the ledges II. The refrig 75 etant duct I3 is shown inFig. 5 as entering the Fig. 12 is similar to Fig. 11 but showsthe effectaocaios freezing chamber immediately after the refrigerant passes theexpansion valve I4. Duct i3 then passes successively aroundeach metalledge II, it being suitably xed to the under side of these ledges Il ingood heat-transfer contact there- 5 l withA in order to provide themaximum heat conductivity between the refrigerant and the freezingcontainer part which contacts said ledges Il. Preferably the refrigerantin duct I3 enters the freezing chamber at the lowest tray and passes outat the topmost tray (as shown in Fig. 5), after which therefrigerant'maypass Yon to other cooling coils or units in the refrigerator before itis led back to the comprem'or. It is thus seen that vthe rst call uponthe refrigerant in duct I3 will be tofreeze any unfrozen liquid `in theseries of freezing containers, but that after such liquid isfrozen andcan give upv little or no furtherheat to duct I3 the cooling effect ofthis refrigerant will be substantially fully available for any otherdesired refrigeration purposes after it leaves the freezing chamber atthe upper exit end of duct I3. This is one of the features of thisinvention and is applicable to each( of the forms of the invention shownor described hereinbelow.

'Ihe removable freezing tray comprises a container pan '20 and aseparatemetal grid member 2l having a cover 22 and integral partition walls 23,preferably of a good heat-conducting metal. Grid 2l has projectingflanges 24 extending around its two sides and rear end so that when thelled tray is inserted within the freezing chamber these flanges 24` willrest directly upon and be supported by the metal ledges Il and have asubstantial area in direct heat-V transfer contactY therewith. The pan2B is supported upon the stationary refrigerated shelf 25 and obviouslymay have a large area. in good heat-transfer contact therewith (asshown) to further enhance rapidity of freezing.

In operatiomvthe pan 20 is filled with water and the grid 2l insertedwithin the pan with the anges 24 projecting laterally beyond the panwalls, as shown. This unit is Athen simply 45 slipped into place`uponits shelf 25'but during such insertion the flanges 24 first engage andslide upon the supporting ledges II so that when the tray reaches itsfinal freezing position (shown in Figs. 1 Vto 3) the weight of the grid2l rests directly upon the surrounding ledges II. In order to facilitatethe initial insertion of the unit and prevent possible abutment of theflange 2B against the front edges of ledges II, these lfront edges maybe turned downward a slight amount as clearly shown at 9 in Figs. 1 and2. Heat is very rapidly conducted from' the water in pan 20 ydue to thefact that the full area of all the partition walls 23 collects the heatfrom the water, so to speak, whence the heat is conductedgby a perfectmetal path directly to the. very cold-ledges II and thence to thefrefrigerant in duct I3. Of course the contact area between flanges 2land ledges Il can be made as great as desired by an increased widththereof but the overlap shown is suicient for a highly `effective heatpath. A illm'of frost or ice is nor- J mally present on the *ledges I I.Hence when the relatively warm anges 24 first rest thereupon this nlmoff ice is first melted thereby and then quickly refrozen so that theheat path from flanges 241tovledges II is improved by this frozen bondtherebetween. Since the ledges ll'extend in a horizontal plane thisbonding lm of ice will ordinarily be of very small thickness, but 75will normally be present to such extent as to provide the desired frozenbond. When the water in pan 20 freezes solid, the accompanying expansionof the ice will force the grid 2| upward- 5 ly and lift the flanges 24tfrom the/ledges Vand thereby break loose the frozen bond therebetween,as shown in Fig. 4. Obviously such automatic releasing of this vfrozenbond between the grid 2| and the stationary ledges 4|| will greatlyfacilitate the subsequent removal of the tray and contents. If pan 20 isof 'flexible rubber or flexible metal it may be easily broken free andslid out due to its distortable bottom. If pan 20.1s of quite rigidmetal its bottom may be broken free from kits frosted bond to shelf 25by hand trated in the drawings.

or by any suitable camming or prying means now in general use.

Fig.' 6 shows a form of the invention whichis similar to and providesrapid freezing similar shelf support for the pan is required.l The gridmember 2|' has depending grooved projections or flanges 3|) into whichtheupper edges 3| of the flexible rubber pan 32 may be easily pressed 5by hand so that the weight of the filled pan 32 will be properlysustained. In this form practically all the'heat is transferred from thewater through grid 2|', metal ledge and refrigerant duct I3 since therubber pan 32 is a relatively poor heat conductor. The trayvand its'frozen contents may be freed from the supporting ledges by hand by aslight twisting or by any added suitable camming or prying means whichare now well known and hence not illus- After removal of the tray andcontents the flexible rubber pan 32 may be easily stripped from the iceby first pulling the beaded edges 3| from the projections 30 on grid 2|by grasping the suitable nger tabs 33 40 provided for this purpose.Another and perhaps ledges 4|.

better Way of removing the ice blocks is to flow a little warm waterover the top plate of grid 2| thereby causing it to be very quicklythawed loose from the ice due to the partitions 23 being integral withthe top plate, whereupon the grid 2| may be simply lifted from the iceandleave rthe ice stuck in the pan 32 due to the fact that the warmwater will not so quickly thaw the lbond between the ice blocks and therubber pan and may not even contact the rubber pan 32.

The iceblocks may then be easily removed from the pan one at a time oras needed, or they may be stored in pan 3 2, with the grid 2|' removed,for, later use. By this method of removal no v warm-water can touch theice and hence there and the removable metal grid l2|" are suspended fromthe stationary refrigerated channel-shaped These ledges 4| preferablycontain a shallow pool of ice or anti-freeze liquid such as brine ormercury in order to provide a more perfect heat path from the ledge tothe contacting depending flanges 42 and 43 on the pan 40 and grid 2|"respectively. If water ice is used in the channel ledges 4| it willfirst be partially melted when the relatively warm tray is inserted inplace and quickly refrozen to provide the improved ice-bonded heat pathfrom the ledge 4| to the contacting anges. 42 and 43, as described abovein connection with Figs. 1 to 4. If a nonfreezing liquid, as brine ormercury, is used in the 76 channel ledges 4| a substantially perfectheat to that above described, but with thisform no tween the contactingmetal parts and hence removal of the tray and contents after freezing isgreatly facilitated. The iepth of brine or mercury may be very small andstill provide an excellent heat path to the flanges 42 and 43.Preferably a small downward projection 44 is provided on the under sideof each of the pan flanges 42 so that said projections 44 will ride ontop of the upstanding inner wall 45 of the channel ledges 4| while thetray is being slid into place to its freezing position, as clearly shownin Fig. 9. This keeps the flanges 42 and 43 lifted clear of the liquidin the channel ledges 4| during insertion or removal of the tray. Butafter the tray the projection 44 rides down into a cam recess 46 in theinner wall 45 of ledge 4| and so permits the anges 42 and 43 to lowerand fully contact the liquid in the channel ledges 4|. Upon withdrawalof 'the tray, the initial reverse motion causes projection 44 to ride'upon the cam 46 and then slide along the top edge of wall 45 as shown inFig. 9, so that during both insertion and withdrawal of the tray theflanges 42 and 43 are out of contact with the liquid in the channelledges 4|. This feature aids greatly in avoiding messiness by preventing`splashing or'surging of the liquid and by preventing withdrawalof thetray with the'liquid still dripping from the anges 42 and 43.Furthermore, this initial upward camming of flanges 42 and 43 willeasily break them free from any frozen bond with the ledges 4| whichwill always be present when water is used in these channels, and may bepresent when a its bond to the ice but without any water touching theice or even the outside of pan 40, Whereupon the grid may be simplylifted from theice blocks which are left stuck in pan 40 as describedabove in connection with Fig. 6. The separated ice blocks may be theneasily removed by a very slight flexing of the metal pan 40, or theymay-be stored in the pan 40 for subsequent easy removal as needed.

Figs. 11 and l2 show a form of the invention wherein the refrigeratedshelf support'50 has side grooves or depressions 5| containing a shallowpool of water ice or anti-freeze liquid 52. 'I'he grid member 2|"' hasintegral partitions 23 as above described and also wide depending sideflanges 53 adapted to contact the bottoms of grooves 5| or at leastcontactvthe liquid or ice in these'grooves. Thus rapid freezing will beobtained by the good heat path from refrigerant ducts Il'" up throughside flanges53 directly to the partitions 23, this very elfective heattrans-v fer being in addition to whatever heat transfer g may occur dueto the bottom of pan 55 resting directly upon the cold shelf 50. Ifdesired pan 55 may be of flexible rubber or other flexible nonmetallicmaterial to facilitate removal of the ice blocks, in which case the'usual poor rate of "heat transfer through the non-metallic pan 55 is lobvious. When the filled ice tray is first inserted If desired pan 55may be of a good heat-` i I in its freezing position the weight of grid2i" will cause the lower edges 5d of anges 53 to first.

melt the layer of ice which may be present in 4 grooves 5i, which layerof ice will be-quickly renection with Figs. 7 to 10. Fig. 12 illustrateshow the ice expands upon freezing and since it cannot move the pan 50downward it will force the grid 23" upward and thus lift the vedges 56of side iianges 53 from the liquid or ice pool 52, or at least break thefrozen bond between edges 5d andA whatever ice may be present andforming such a frozen bond. Some of this4 normally present ice willordinarily stick to the edges 5d' and be removed from the grooves 5ieach time the tray is removed from the refrigerator, and thus an overaccumulation of condensation iceor frost in grooves 5l will be avoided.vThe ice blocks may be taken from the removed tray in any mannerdescribed above in connection with the previously described forms of theinvention.

Figs. 13 to l'lshow a form of the invention having a flexible rubber orother flexible pan 50 supported upon a shelf 62 and a exible metal gridmember 6l having a direct heat transfer path to the liquid or iceretaining channel ledges di which are similar in constructionand'operation to the ledges 4I described in detail above in connectionwith Figs. 7 to 10. The grid 6| has overhanging and depending sideflanges 63 whose lower edges 64 contact the ice or non-freezing liquidin ledges 4Il to provide rapid heat transfer from the water-in therubber pan S. ,flanges 63 each has a small projection 64 which slidesupon the top'edge of inner wall 45 of channel lcdge 4l during theinsertion or withdrawal sliding movement of the tray and rests Withinthe cam recess 4E in wall 45 when the tray is in freezing position, allfor the purposes fully described above and as shown in Figs. 13 and 14.Preferably the top cover plate 65 of grid 6l is depressed on the insideof the walls of pan 6i! sumciently to contact directly with the surfaceof the water when pan 6 0 is filled to the normal water level therein,as iliustrated in Fig. 13. This feature provides a greaterheat-transferring surface on grid 6I in direct contact with the waterand hence accelerates rapidity of freezing. Obviously this feature of adepressed top cover plate to directly contact the wat'er may be appliedto any ofthe other forms of the invention herein disclosed.

In operation, the filled vtrayincluding the assemblei grid and pan isslipped to its freezing position in the freezing chamber, whereupon` the.good heat path from the refrigerated ledges M directly to the variouspartitions 66 in large surface area contact with'the water gives rapidcooling. Of course some additional coolingv effect is had through thebottom wall of the flexible rubber pan 60 whichcontacts shelfl 62. Uponthe easy removal of the tray and its frozen contents,

the iiexible elastic pan -60 4may be easily stripped from the ice andgrid 6i without any melting, as

illustrated in Fig. l5, b y pulling upon the integral finger tabs 61suitably provided for this purpose.

I Then, since grid 6I has no stiffening sidewalls V and the ice mass isnot confined at all on its outer These "break the frozen bondbetween theice blocks and the metal partitions 65. The ice blocks may then beeither all dumped out or picked out with the fingers one at a time, oras needed. T he metal partitions 66 are preferably quite springy sothat` they cannot easily be bent permanently out of. shape, and arepreferably made of separate strips of sheet metal bent to zig-zag formand perma'- nently welded or fixed tothe metal cover plate 65, as shownin Fig. 17. .This form of flexible' metal grid is claimed in mycopending application Serial No. 58L,864, filed December 14, 1931,Patent No. 2,011,849, Aug. 20, 1935. Of course any other suitable formof removable flexible metal grid having partitions in good heatconductivity rela- 15 tion with the overhanging side flanges maybe usedwith this invention, in particular the other forms of flexible gridsdisclosed in the above prior application. Such further forms of flexiblemetal grids are not illustrated in the drawings since such showing would-unduly complicate this disclosure. If desired, the partitionless plainpan G0 may be of flexible sheet metal with corrugated or foldedexpansible corners which corners will yield suiiiciently to permit themetal pan 60 to be distorted by twisting same to loosen it from thesolid ice contents whereupon it may be lifted from the mass of ice whichremains in the grid 6l. The g'rid 6I may then be flexed to remove theindividual ice blocks as described above.

Figs. v18 to 20 show a form of the invention having a metal p an 10having upstanding integral partitions 1| therein for a part of itsdepth, and a metal grid l2 having depending integral partitions '13which match and register with the upstanding partitions ll. In this formpreferably both the pan l0 and grid 'I2 are cast integral with theirpart depth partitions which preferably are tapered, as shown, so thatthey may be more read# ily withdrawn from the ice", The grid12hasv1iatif freezing since both the grid 12 and the pan 'l0 (whichrests upon the refrigerated shelf 15)/are both arranged to rapidlytransfer the heat from the water. Since the partitions 'H and I3 extendvonly part way through the surrounding Water they heat path through theimmersed portions of the partitions is shorter and hence the averagetemperature over the entire area4 of the partitions will be much colder,with obvious advantages. Fig. 20 shows how the ice in vexpanding dnringfreezing will lift the grid 12 upward with these resulting advantages:(1) the metal flanges 14 Will be broken loose or cleared of contact withany ice or non-freezing liquid retained in the channel ledges 4I andthus greatly facilitate the '65 removal of the tray;A (2) thedown-tapered par-` titions 13 will be forced upward, as shown at 16,which tends to loosen the bond between the ice and the variouspartitions 'I3 and greatly facilitates the removal of the grid 'I2 as aunit from 70 the ice, either after a slight thawing action or by adirect pull upon the grid 'I2 without such thawing. After removal of thegrid 12 from pan 10 containing the ice the ice blocks are slightlyspaced apart at their upperlportions and hence 7 may be easily pickedindividually from pan 18 after a few moments to permit aslight thawing,or immediately if pan 'l0 has only a small amount of heat applied to itsunder surface. Or if desired, the pan 18 may rst be removed from thesolid mass of ice after some heat is applied to its bottom, whereuponthe separate ice blocks may be picked fromA the grid 12.

Figs. 21 and,22 show a form of the invention having a metal pan 80 withintegral upstanding partitions 8| therein for its partial depthV similarto Fig. 1,8, and a quite flexible metal grid 82 having integraldepending transverse partitions 83 which register with the transversepartitions 8| of the pan 88. The metal grid 82 is shown as beingdirectly refrigerated by its flanges 84 .which are supported upon thechannel ledges 4| as also is the metal pan4 80, which support is similarto Figs. v7 to 10 and is fully described above in detail. Obviously ifdesired, pan 88 can be supported upon a refrigerated shelf, as, in theforms of Figs. V13 to 20, and only the grid 82 be supported upon therefrigerated side ledges. The mainfeature of this form over Figs. 18 to2O is that the flexible metal grid 82 has no longitudinal partitions butonly the integral transverse folds vwhich form the transverse partitions83. The side flanges 84 have 'splits 85 opposite all the partitions 83.This renders grid 82 very flexible to facilitate the removal of the iceblocks from the tray. To effect such removal of the ice blocks, the"assembled grid and pan and frozen contents may be set upon any' warmsurface or slight` heat applied to the under surface of pan 80 in anyldesired manner for only a very short time, whereupon the'grid 82together vwith the titlons 8|.

ice blocks sticking in place may b'e lifted bodily from the pan 80 andits relatively short par- The grid 82 may then be very easily flexed toremove the individual rows of ice blocks therefrom as desired. 'Ihe iceblocks of each row will still be joined together after such removal by aneck of ice of the depth 88 (see Fig. 21) extending from the tips ofpartitions 8| to the water level 81. These necks 86 may be easily brokenapart since an incipient crack in the ice is already formed at thesepoints. Obviously the -space between the surface 81 on the frozen iceblocks and the top plate of grid 82 (as shown in Fig. 2 1) will greatlyaid in the flexing of grid 82 to break its frozen bond to the iceblocks. Ofcourse any other suitable form of exible metal grid memberhaving only part-depth partitions may be substituted for the specificform of iiexible grid 82 shown in the drawings, sincein each such casethe relatively short depth of the partitions will greatly increase theexibility of the grid and facilitate the freeing of the ice therefrom byflexing same without the application of heat.

It is to be understood that, in the various forms of the inventiondescribed aboveany grid member disclosed herein may be used with any panmember disclosed herein since it is not necessary that the pan member beof either metal or fiexible\ non-metallic materialin any one form.Preferadopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows: 1. In a refrigerator, in combination, acoolin unit having a refrigerated ledge support therein, a removablefreezing container adapted to contain water positioned adjacent saidsupport and a removable freezing container `adapted to contain waterpositioned adjacent said ledge support and having a metallicpartitioning member therein, said member having projecting metalportions which slidably engage said ledge support and are supportedthereby when said container is moved to its freezing position.

3. In a refrigerator, in combination, a freezing chamber havingstationary refrigerated surfaces at opposed sides thereof, a removablefreezing container insertable within said freezing chamber, saidcontainer having a removable metal grid having metal portions projectinglaterally over the edges of said container and arranged to lie in goodheat-transfer relation with said opposed refrigerated surfaces when saidcontainer is in its freezing position.

4. In a. refrigerator, in combination, a freezing chamber having twoopposed refrigerated ledges therein and a tray'support', a removablefreezing tray adapted to rest upon said support, said tray having aremovable metal grid having portions projecting beyond said tray in suchmanner as to contact said ledges and be supported thereby while saidtray rests upon said tray support.

5. In a refrigerator, in combination, a freezing chamber having twoopposed refrigerated ledges .therein and a tray support, a removablefreezing tray adapted to rest upon said support, said tray having aremovable metal grid having portions projecting beyondsaid tray in suchmanner as to contact said ledges and be supported thereby while saidtray rests upon said tray support, the grid being vertically movablefrom said tray and the arrangement being such that when the containedwater in the tray freezes the expansion of the ice will lift said gridprojections out of contact with said ledges.

' 6. The process of freezing ice blocks in a two part mold, comprising:fllling with water and assembling the two parts of the mold in contactwith 'the water, positioning the two parts of the mold in individualcontact with two spaced refrigerated freezing surfaces so that the upperpart of the mold can be moved upwardly andthe lower part of the mold isrestrained against downlward movement, then freezing the water to ice bydirectly conducting heat therefrom through both of the mold parts tosaid two spaced refrigerated surfaces and allowing the expansion of theice during freezing to actupon and lift the upper mold part out ofcontact with its refrigerated surface, thus partially separating themold parts.-

7. An ice tray having a container pan and a removable metal partitioningmember therefor, said partitioning member having portions extendingoutwardly beyond the edges of said pan and adapted to contactrefrigerated surfaces at the both said pan and said partitioning memberhaving laterally extending flanges adjacent their 'up-t per side edgesand arranged to directly contact refrigerated surfaces at the sidesthereof vand form a. good heat transfer path therewith.

9. An ice tray having a container pan and a removable metal partitioningmember therefor,

said partitioning member having portions extending outwardly beyond theedges of said pan and arranged to directly contact refrigeratedvsurfaces at the sides thereof and form a good i'. it-transfer paththerewith, said refrigerated' surfaces having aeovering of anti-freezing'liquid retained thereupon.

10. In a refrigerator, in combination, a cooling' unit having arefrigerated ledge support therein, a removable freezing pan positionedadjacent said support and having a metallic partitioning member therein,said partitioning member having a metal top plate and depending metalpartitions, said top plate having laterally projecting metal flangessupported in Agood lsieat-transferI relation upon said refrigeratedsupport when said container is in freezing position.

1l.. In a refrigerator having two laterally spaced stationaryrefrigerated surfaces, an ice tray having a container pan and a metalgrid, said metal grid having metal partitions immersible in the watercontained in said pan and having two laterally opposed projectingiiangesex'A tending outwardly beyond the edges of said pan and resting uponsaid refrigerated surfaces and forming a good heat-transfer paththerewith.

12. In a refrigerator having two laterally -spaced refrigeratingsurfaces, an ice tray located between said refrigerated surfaces andhaving a flexible non-metallic container pan and a metallic partitioningmember, said partitioning member having metal partitions immersible inthe water,

contained in said pan and having projecting portions extending outwardlybeyond the edges of said pan and contacting'` said refrigerated surfacesat the sides of said pan and forming a good heat-transfer paththerewith.

13. In a. refrigerator having two laterally spaced refrigeratedsurfaces, anice tray flocated between said refrigerated surfaces andhaving a container pan and an inherently flexible metallic partitioningmember, said partitioning inember having metal partitions immersible inthe water contained in said pan and having projecting portions extendingvoutwardly beyond, the edges of said pan and contacting saidrefrigerated surfaces at the sides of said pan and forming a goodheat-transfer path therewith.

14. In a refrigerator having two laterally spaced refrigerated surfaces,an ice tray located between said refrigerated surfaces and having acontainer pan and a removable metal partitioning member therefor, saidpartitioning mem,- ber having marginal portions extending outwardlybeyond the edges of said vpan and conitv tacting said refrigeratedsurfaces at the sides l thereof and forming a goot heat-transfer lpaththerewith.

15. In a refrigerator, in combination, a freezing chamber, a removablefreezing tray adaptedv to be positioned in said chamber, said trayhaving a container pan and a removable grid inserted into said pan fromthe open top thereof, means for supporting said pan against downwardmovement during freezing of its contents, lmeans for extracting heatfrom said grid more rapidly than from said pan and causing the ice tofreeze solid at the upper level prior to freezing solid at the lowerportions thereof whereby the upper firstfrozen portion of the ice isforced upwardly by the subsequent freezing of the lower portion, andmeans on said removable grid engaging the firstfrozen portion of the iceand causing said grid to be forced upwardly therewith by the subsequentfreezing of the lower portion of the ice.

RALPH H: CmTON.

